Stronghold
by ashslaveDT
Summary: My first fic. About a CTF match. More chapters to come. Feel free to comment. BTW, title has nothing to do with story.
1. SandDome

Note: 'Jyaunti's 'J' is silent.  
  
As the after-effects of the teleportation wore off, I glanced quickly around.   
I was I a small room, with one exit. Leaning on the wall was an AMSD shock rifle.   
I slung my standard-issue Assault Rifle on my back and grabbed the shock rifle. Its energy chamber began to glow with a murky purple as I disengaged the safety.  
Jogging out the framed metal door, I saw my other teammates warming up, each with their own assorted weapons.   
Making the final checks of the shock rifle, I began to walk down one of the two corridors which lined the blue base.

Then, a voice spoke through my headset. "Drag, you cover Jyaunti. She's going for the red flag."

"Gotcha." I replied.

A young female Necris warrior ran up beside me. Her livid white eyes narrowed.

"Are you Drag?" She rasped.

"Yeah. You're Jyaunti?" I asked. She barely nodded her head as she increased her stride down the pale corridor.

Necri were known to be proud and disdainful, though the males were more so.   
We reached the center of the arena, a large oval room with many crates. Jyaunti continued walking arrogantly towards the red base. I reluctantly followed, glancing at the crates uncertainly.Suddenly, a human clad in red armor rolled out from one of the crates.

"Watch out!" I cried to the young Necris.

"I see him." She hissed, raising her flak cannon.

A tight spray erupted from the flak cannon's barrel, taking off the red team member's head. It rolled on the floor, trailing blood. The Necris kicked the severed head and it bounced off the wall, leaving blood on Jyaunti's boot as well as the wall.

"I need to get one of those." I muttered.

Then, a hail of bullets flew from a minigun, its wielder hidden behind the crates. The bullets hit Jyaunti, riddling her with holes. She dropped to the floor, her limp hand releasing the flak cannon.   
I tightened my grip on my shock rifle, then dived sideways, towards the crates. I fired, a purple beam speeding from the rifle's barrel.My shot hit its mark, on the red team member's head, instantly vaporizing his brain. He fell limply backwards, to the floor, his gaping mouth filling with drool.   
I wiped the sweat from my brow, and continued towards the red base. I felt something missing. The flak cannon!   
I turned around and ran to the disintegrating corpse of Jyaunti.   
Though her corpse would disappear, her blood stains would remain indefinitely.   
I tossed my assault rifle to the floor, replacing it with the shock rifle on my back. Then, I picked up the flak cannon, its weight a testimony to its raw power.   
As I got up, I felt something burst through my chest, the steady green beam instantly cauterizing my wound.   
I turned and saw a female commando, a plasma rifle in her hands, its hot barrel still turning slowly.   
I dropped to the floor, on my knees, my mouth spurting fresh blood. I looked up and fired a single dense ball of ionized fragments. It hit the floor, dispersing fragments. The female human flew backwards, clutching her chest. She stood shakily and raised her head slowly. She dropped to the floor then, dead.   
I closed my eyes and let death take me.   
I was surrounded by darkness, feeling lost. A sudden bright light flashed, and I found myself back at the blue base, next to the blue flag, my chest still hurting dully.   
I looked down at the assault rifle in my hands and cursed. Then I spotted something far better than the flak cannon, a rocket launcher.   
I ran forward, a childish smile playing on my lips. I lifted the rocket launcher, getting used to its bulk. I let loose a suppressed grin, sliding one finger along one of its three barrels, the cold metal tickling my finger.

"Hey! Stop daydreaming! I need some help over here!" Jyaunti's voice shouted through my headset, shattering my blood-filled daydream.

I snapped my head up. I darted down the hallway, the rocket launcher impeding my progress.

"No wonder they call you Drag." Jyaunti muttered as I neared her, bloody corpses at her feet, their mutilated faces in permanent agony.

"What?" I said.

"Nothing. What took you so long?" I lifted my rocket launcher, as if showcasing it. I grinned.

Jyaunti raised a single eyebrow.

"Do you do that to all your victims?" I asked, looking down at the marks on the dead bodies' faces. She grinned evilly.

"Feel uneasy? Yes, I do that to all my victims. It's a... ritual."

She then turned and continued to the red base. She halted suddenly. She looked over her shoulder.

"Don't worry, that's not going to happen to you."

She began to walk towards the red base.

"Yet."


	2. SandDome Part 2

_My thanks goes out to Poddy who wrote the very first review and well... inspired me to push on._

Jyaunti crouched, her pale skin glistening with sweat. We were waiting right outside the red base, for the attackers to vacate the area. My arms grew tired, the rocket launcher hugged to my chest.

"How long more?" I whispered into Jyaunti's ear.

"Be quiet!" She hissed "They must be waiting to see if the coast is clear."

"Well then," I said, standing up, "Let's _make_ the way clear."

"You fool!" Jyaunti exclaimed as she grabbed my armor "If we kill them, they'll just respawn and we'll have an even bigger problem!"

I crouched slowly as I ran her reasoning through my head. She was right. Damn.   
As Jyaunti finally released me from her piercing glare, three red team members walked cautiously past. Jyaunti waited for them to pass, then got up and sprinted for the red flag. She grabbed the red flag off its stand and slung it across her back. She glared at me quickly and headed back for the blue base.

I made faces at her receding figure, Letting my imagination loose. After having my fun I began to follow her. As I then rounded the corner that opened out into the large oval room in the center of the map, I saw the Necris blademaiden take a pounding from one of the defenders.   
The well-built male soldier had employed a minigun, drilling many holes into Jyaunti's abdomen. Knowing she would not last long with her bio-rifle, I loosed a tight spiral of three missiles, aimed directly at the male's lower back. Two of the missiles hit home, while the other crashed into the wall. The splash damage from the last missile sent the red team member flying forward. Landing on his stomach, the male rolled so that he was on his back and let loose half of his clip. The bullets drilled into my armor, tearing my flesh. I screamed in agony as the bullets, like little flies, wedged themselves in my lungs, causing blood to pour like a fountain out of my gaping mouth. I crashed to the floor, not quite dead. Felling faint, I fired my last remaining missile at the soldier. The soldier ducked, sending the rocket right into the wall. I cursed, more blood pouring out of my facial orifice.

The soldier stood towering above my mangled body, grinning. He was quite badly hurt himself, but still healthier than me. Right at that moment, when my death was easily foretold, another person rounded the corner - he was blue, one of mine. He snarled and sent gobules of green slime into my opponent's back. It was horrific – he screamed as the green slime started to dissolve his flesh, eating away at his raw muscles, until his head was a mere skull, and he collapsed to the floor, a heap of bones.

"Than-." I managed, blood taking over the rest of my word.

He smiled grimly and pulled out his assault rifle. He sent a single bullet into my cranium, ending my suffering.   
I respawned, flashes of the red team member's death flashing through my mind. I shook my head quickly, dispersing the images.

"Wake up!" Jyaunti's voice rang in my ears "I need backup!"

Grabbing a nearby plasma rifle, I headed in the general direction of the red base. Jyaunti appeared, chased by a trio of angry reds. They carried a minigun, a flak cannon, and a shock rifle. I wondered how Jyaunti had made it this far.   
She gestured at me with the finger, indicating she needed help. I fired the plasma rifle at the three reds, the long, green blowtorch instantly disintegrating their armor. They turned to face me. One of them, seeming to be the leader, shouted to the one with the flak cannon to follow Jyaunti. I was up against two enemies, each with formidable firepower. I gulped. They wasted no time. One of them fired his minigun, literally turning my chest into a leaky piece of meat. I choked out blood. Firing my plasma rifle, I sent the one with minigun sprawling. Meanwhile, the one with the shock rifle had fired a slow, large ball of energy toward me.   
I jump forward, under the big ball of energy, instantly realizing my mistake. The red team member fired a shock bean right into the core of the energy ball, releasing a wave of unstoppable energy. I felt my body fry as I hit the ground, energy coursing though my vital organs.

I respawned, cursing. Meanwhile, Jyaunti had already made two flag captures.

"One more and we're outta here!" A cheerful voice came over my headset.

I sighed and reached for the same plasma rifle. Then, a thought finally ignited itself in the depths of my stagnant mind. The rocket launcher! It had to be around here somewhere.   
I began searching, knowing it was in the blue base. Jyaunti came up, he face contorted in anger. She must just have respawned too.

"You look like you're looking for something" Her voice was higher-pitched, indicating sarcasm.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Do you happen to know where the rocket launcher is?"

The Necris slapped me on the back of my head. Hard. "It's right behind this wall, in front of the blue flag!" She hissed "Damn you're dense!"

I scowled at her and turned the corner, to find that one of my teammates had just swiped the rocket launcher.   
My left eye began to twitch.

"Did I mention it had already been taken?" She laughed evilly and walked away, shaking her head.

My teammate who had gotten to the rocket launcher looked at me questioningly, but I just shook my head and made little circles in the air next to my temple and pointed at Jyaunti's back. He laughed and turned to resume his defense of the flag.   
I hurried up to catch up with Jyaunti. She was walking with her back straight, shoulders pulled back, head high. To my surprise, we met no resistance on the way to the red flag. Jyaunti leisurely took the flag and slung it on her back, before turning around and heading back the way we came. Right then two reds stepped out from the corners, blocking our progress. Jyaunti calmly fired a round of her flak cannon, hitting both of them. It was then I learned the blademaiden's secret to survival – bunnyhopping.   
Right then and there, she started jumping forward, springing up into the air again as soon as her feet hit the ground. I gaped as all the projectiles the two reds fired missed. Then, right as Jyaunti was above the two red team members, a single bullet from one of the miniguns hit her leg, ending her hopping spree.   
She connected with the ground, wincing in pain. My eyes narrowed and I fired balls of plasma energy at the two red team members. They took the plasma and fell forward, dead.

"Double kill!"

I whooped. This was the first time in a long while I had actually managed to score a kill. Jyaunti got up and smacked me on the head, hard, again.

"Shut up and let's go!" She said. I rubbed my throbbing head. She could hit hard.

"Last one." Jyaunti muttered as she reached behind her back for the flag. Right then, at the most oddest of times, a hail of bullets hit Jyaunti in the back. She hit the floor, body riddled with bullets.   
Two red team members came into view, their armor glistening with fresh blood from one of my base's defenders. They both ran for the red flag, at the same time shooting at me.   
Not all the bullets hit me: I jumped forward.   
Grabbing the flag with my arm that had not yet been riddled with holes, I shoved it into the blue flag. It instantly dissolved.

You have won the match!" A voice came over my headset. Wanting to avoid coming out of the match injured, I raised my plasma rifle to my head.   
Too late.   
I respawned back in the central arena, my left arm wholly and wobbly.

"Shit." I muttered. I could hear crowds cheering in the distance as my vision darkened.   
I stumbled a few feet before collapsing, unconscious.


	3. Meet The Team

_ Thanks to Miranon for comments._  
  
I awoke, the light from the overhead bulb blinding my sore eyes. Raising my hand to shield my eyes, I tried to recall where I was. In the tournament? No. I remembered the announcer's voice proclaiming that my team had won the match. Then... then I had been teleported back to the stadium... that was where the memories stopped. I sat up, looking around. I seemed to be in a ward of some kind. Other people dressed in white gowns with green polka dots lay groaning in beds beside me. They turned slowly, as if never to find comfort in any position they tried to rest. Right then, as I was getting familiarized with my surroundings, the door opened. A pale figure entered the room. Its lifeless white eyes fixed their eerie gaze on me. The figure began to move closer, arms outstretched. The undead being's face was marked with scars, long slashes diagonally and across. Its hands were white and bloodless. It moved slowly across the linoleum floor, making no noise, as if it were floating. It reminded me of an old film I had watched on microfilm, about the tooth fairy. It was called Darkness Falls. The tooth fairy had killed a mother whose son had glimpsed her horrid face. The being was close now, mouth hanging open, ready to suck the life out of my body. I screwed my eyes shut, covered my head with shaking hands, and screamed.  
  
Something hit the back of my head, knocking the remaining air out of my dry lungs and causing me to bite my tongue. Out of breath and hurting, I surrendered. Whispering things like "what do you want?" and "don't hurt me", I opened my throbbing eyes. Fearing the worst, I only let a small bit of light into my eyes. As my gaze focused, I found myself staring at an enraged face I had come to know so well – Jyaunti.  
  
"Jeez... I thought you were one of hose undead things for a moment there."  
  
Jyaunti moved to slap my head again, nut this time I was ready. Ducking, I managed to miss her blow. I was getting good. I grinned.  
  
"I'm beginning to think you're getting senile." Jyaunti hissed, her hand connecting with my head, sending me sprawling.  
  
"Look who's talking." I muttered.  
  
Jyaunti turned, her eyes mere slits. She held her gaze for a few seconds, but made no attempt to physically assault me again. I hung back for a bit, then cautiously fell back into step with the blademaiden. The Necris turned her head and regarded me with cold eyes.  
  
"Follow me." She said, deliberately increasing her stride "I'll take you to meet our captain."  
  
We turned so many corners, I stopped trying to count them all. Finally, we reached a gray metal door set into a heavy metal frame, with the numbers '1076' bolted onto the door with a wooden frame.  
  
"Hold on," I panted, bending down and resting my hands on me knees "lemme catch my breath."  
  
The Necris rolled her eyes, moving her head as well to exaggerate the movement.  
  
"Really, if you can't even take that short a walk, there's no way you're ever gonna fit enough to last the entire tournament."  
  
I sighed loudly, then slowly straightened my back. The blademaiden rolled her eyes again and opened the metal door.  
  
We were greeted by a wave of smoke and liquor and beer, mixed together to form a nauseating stench. Three men sat at a table, playing cards, while another man and woman sat at another table playing simulated chess, complete with fluid movements and real-time shadows.  
  
"Playing hard to get?" One of the heavily-built playing cards turned and regarded me with blue eyes, then nodding towards Jyaunti.  
  
The Necris rolled her eyes and went over to bar counter to busy herself with making a drink.  
  
"Hey, keep rolling those eyes of yours and they'll dry out," the man continued, unaffected by her response "don't want that to happen before lover-boy here gets to knock them out himself while you two are getting it on." He winked at me.  
  
Jyaunti groaned. "What will it take to shut you up!" She grabbed her drink and went into the adjacent room, slamming the door.  
  
I realized I was blushing then. I tried to fight the hotness that was spreading slowly across my face, like a virus. "I mean, Jyaunti, for crying out load! Jeez." I thought to myself, now aware there wasn't much I could do to stop my face from turning redder.  
  
"Mabye giving me a little something once you're done with cowboy here." The man called after Jyaunti.  
  
The door to the adjacent room opened then, and for a moment I thought it was Jyaunti coming back to dish out a little something to the man, though not the way he wanted it. I realized I was wrong as a solemn-faced man walked though the door. His frown burst into a smile when he saw me.  
  
"Hey Drag, sorry didn't get to meet you formally before the match. You know, introductions and stuff." He shrugged. "I'm Bullettime." He grinned, shaking my hand "you can call me Bull. And this" he waved his hand in a slow circle, around the room "is team EagleStrike."  
  
He noticed the blush, now starting to attack my neck. "See ol' Rover here gave you some of his medicine." He said, slapping the well-built man's back.  
  
"Horny as ever chief." Rover grinned, mock-saluting Bull.  
  
Bull laughed "Nothing to worry about. He doesn't mean it. Was the same way when I started with Sree." He tilted his head towards the woman who was playing chess. She was evidently winning.  
  
"This here's Smacktard." Bull said, indicating the guy who was trying hard not to look like he was peering at Rover's cards.  
  
Realizing Rover was frowning at him, Smack grinned sheepishly at his cards and said, "Guess you can see where I get my name."  
  
Rover laughed heartily and patted Smack on the back, "We know you try."  
  
At that moment, a shout of triumph came from the chess stable and Sree shoved her hands up in the air, signaling her victory.  
  
"Well done! Beat the crap out of him again!" Bull cheered, putting his arm round Sree.  
  
She pecked him on the cheek and turned her attention to me. Grabbing my hand, she shook it violently. "Hi! I'm Sree!"  
  
I smiled and nodded, nursing my poor hand. The man who had lost stood and walked over to me.  
  
"I'm Ironjaw." He said in a mechanical voice, his metal jaw creaking, "lost my jaw to a well-placed flak shell. Regretted not having killed myself before the end since then." He stuck out his hand, then seeing me cradling my hand, nodded knowingly.  
  
"And this is Wry." Bull cut in, nodding at a hunched figure, the last card player.  
  
Wry laughed maniacally, then began mutilating one of the cards.  
  
"Hey!" Rover protested, then leaned over and snatched the already-badly- defaced card from Wry clawing hands. "These things are hard to come by."  
  
Wry's right eye began twitching, then he sauntered off through the door into the adjacent room, probably in search for something to deface that wouldn't resist.  
  
Jyaunti came into the room then, her face wet with fresh tears.  
  
"Aw, hey." Rover began. "I did'nt mean it, ya know."  
  
Jyaunti's grimace then turned into a broad, toothy grin. "Ha ha ha!" She laughed coarsely, obviously not accustomed to such an expression of joy. "Got you back with the old water-under-the-eyes trick."  
  
"Those teeth look sharp." Rover whispered loudly, loud enough for Jyaunti to hear. "If I were you, I'd watch out for her love-bite."  
  
The blademaiden narrowed her eyes, then grinned at Rover.  
  
"I'll get you back someday." She laughed.  
  
"Just make sure you don't do it out on the field." Sree put in, resting her head on Bull's shoulder.  
  
Bull laughed. "Wouldn't want any accidents now would we?" He winked. 


End file.
